Scottish Independence Referendum Act 2013

Postal voting statements: additional personal identifier verification

39 (1) A counting officer may on any occasion on which a postal voters box is opened in accordance with paragraph 34 undertake verification of the personal identifiers on any postal voting statement that has on a prior occasion been placed in the receptacle for postal voting statements.

(2) Where a counting officer undertakes additional verification of personal identifiers, the officer must—

(a) remove as many postal voting statements from the receptacle for postal voting statements as the officer wishes to subject to additional verification, and

(b) compare the date of birth and the signature on each such postal voting statement against the date of birth and the signature contained in the personal identifiers record relating to the person to whom the postal ballot paper was addressed.

(3) Where the counting officer is no longer satisfied that the postal voting statement has been duly completed, the officer must mark the statement “rejected” and, before placing the postal voting statement in the receptacle for rejected votes (verification procedure), must—

(a) show it to the postal ballot agents and permit them to view the entries in the personal identifiers record which relate to the person to whom the postal ballot paper was addressed, and, if any agent objects to the counting officer’s decision, add the words “rejection objected to”,

(b) open any postal ballot box and retrieve the ballot paper corresponding to the ballot paper number on the postal voting statement,

(c) show the ballot paper number on the retrieved ballot paper to the agents, and

(d) attach the ballot paper to the postal voting statement.

(4) Following the removal of a postal ballot paper from a postal ballot box the counting officer must lock and reseal the postal ballot box in the presence of the postal ballot agents.

(5) Whilst retrieving a ballot paper in accordance with sub-paragraph (3), the counting officer and the counting officer’s staff—

(a) must keep the ballot papers face downwards and take proper precautions for preventing any person from seeing the votes made on the ballot papers, and

(b) must not look at the corresponding number list used at the issue of postal ballot papers.